Pop culture television shows, such as “Bones” and “CSI”, have become the basis for what many think forensic science to be — murder and drama. Here at N.C . State, though, the forensic science program has sought to realistically prepare students and police officers alike for the field.

The recent creation of the Forensic Science Institute has incorporated efforts from multiple colleges, David Hinks , director of the institute, said in a radio interview with WPTF .

The interdisciplinary effort ranges from the colleges of engineering and computer science to entomology and textiles.

In fact, computer science and engineering faculty are working to develop virtual three-dimensional crime scenes, Hinks said.

The system for these 3-D crime scenes is called ‘IC-Crime,’ and is currently in its research stage. Crime scene investigators can globally access it and collaborate.

Similarly, the “Discovery and Recovery” seminar, sponsored by the National Institute of Justice, was held last May. Students, law enforcement and forensic scientists studied alongside each other to learn how to locate and identify evidence within crime scenes.

Lacey Treadway, a junior in bioarchaeology, saw how forensic anthropology can also work on the same level as other disciplines, such as in her own major.

“In both fields, being able to identify aspects of the skeleton like sex, age, height and pathologies possessed by the individual are important to successful work,” Treadway said.

However, where an archaeologist would use that information to identify gender, as well as things like work and eating habits, a forensic anthropologist would use the human remains to determine an unknown identity, Treadway said.

Officially, neither N.C. State nor anywhere else in North Carolina has an accredited forensic science academic program, according to Hinks.

The University does, however, offer a minor in forensic science. Roughly 40 students are currently in the minor, Hinks said.

Members of N.C. State faculty have actually testified in court, based on their findings in crime scenes and their professional expertise.

In the 2008 case of 19-month-old DeVarion Gross’ death, Ann Ross, co-director of the Forensic Science Institute, provided the state medical examiner’s office with her report. She concluded that the boy’s rib fractures indicated abuse prior to his death, according to an article on N.C. State’s official website.

Ross’ achievements, which include developing a skull-mapping technique to help determine the ancestry of remains, have won her recognition around the world, as well as in the classroom.

“Dr. Ross is amazing,” Treadway said. “She’s smart and entertaining, but incredibly informative. Her [Intro to Forensic Anthropology] class was probably one of the best classes I’ve had at State.”

“Professor Ann Ross is an internationally renowned forensic anthropologist that has worked in Haiti, worked through the Katrina disaster, [and] has been in Panama for the Panamanian Truth Commission,” Hinks said.

A collaborative effort on a dyed fiber database is also in the works, with the help of a $600,000 grant from the National Institute for Justice, Dieter Griffis, director of the Analytical Instrumentation Facility, said.

The database, which would be the first of its kind, would help differentiate fibers by type and amount of dye. For example, when handling evidence from a crime scene, investigators would be able to determine which car model it came from, as opposed to just knowing the color or type of fiber, Griffis said.

“We’ve developed an analytical technique that would add to that database,” Griffis said. ”The technique is called ‘Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer,’ which allows us to probe molecular surfaces of a material.”

Expertise is also being contributed by David Hinks, a dye chemist, and by the College of Textiles, which has a library of automotive fibers, Griffis said. 

All of these advancements from the Forensic Science Institute might have you believe that N.C. State will be premiering its own crime show on Wednesday nights. In reality, those shows are playing to an audience and thus are not necessarily accurate all the time.

“While the [forensic science] shows are incredibly entertaining, and I won’t pretend that I don’t enjoy them, they dramatize what is a legitimate field of hard science,” Treadway said.

The Forensic Science Institute is working toward officially adding a bachelor of science, master’s and doctoral forensic science program at N.C. State.